The present invention relates to alkaline proteases from Bacillus pumilus, to their use and to a method for producing these proteases.
Alkaline proteases are valuable industrial products with advantageous applications, in particular in the detergent industry, since they remove protein-containing contaminants. In order to be effective, these proteases must not only have proteolytic activity under washing conditions (pH value, temperature), but they must also be compatible with other detergent constituents, e.g. other enzymes, surfactants, builders, bleaching agents, bleaching agent activators and other additives and adjuvants. In particular, the proteases must possess sufficient stability with respect to these detergent constituents and sufficient washing effectiveness in their presence.
The alkaline proteases of the prior art have been obtained in particular by cultivation of Bacillus species, such as Bacillus alcalophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Bacillus licheniformis, which produce alkaline proteases and secrete them into the culture medium.
Many attempts have already been made in the prior art to obtain new alkaline proteases having desired properties. For instance, a series of natural and artificially (genetically) altered alkaline and highly alkaline proteases is already known. However, there remains a need for new, alkaline proteases having beneficial properties, particularly with respect to their washing behavior.